The ChamberPost

Cost-Saving and Corporate Responsibility

by Kathryn Traver

Now, more than ever, businesses are trying to identify ways to save money.  In her latest Charlotte Business Journal article, Ruth Kinzey writes about how innovative green-friendly efforts  can quickly boost the bottom line.

There is a dual benefit to implementing these types of programs: Cost savings are achieved while corporate reputation and stakeholder relationships are enhanced. These programs are sustainable in the long run because they align economic growth with community. 

For more innovative strategies that strengthen communities while bolstering the bottom line, join BCLC for the 2009 Corporate Community Investment Conference in Chicago May 3-5. 

We welcome your ideas here. Please share how your company is saving money through its responsibility initiatives.

Key Appointments and the Obama Development Agenda

by Kathryn Traver 

As the festivities die down from Barack Obama's historic inauguration, his new development team is starting to take shape. BCLC is committed to keeping you informed of the latest nominations, confirmations and appointments that relate to our programming. 

Business Leaders Help China Earthquake Recovery

by Kathryn Traver

On Friday, June 6, the U.S. Chamber’s Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) hosted a meeting among President George W. Bush and leaders in the business and nongovernmental communities to discuss aid and reconstruction after the May 12 earthquake in China.  Co-hosts for the meeting were the American Red Cross and the Business Roundtable.   

BCLC’s Executive Vice President Arthur Rothkopf presented BCLC’s role of coordinating among corporate, non-governmental and government stakeholders. 

The meeting participants included the Chairman of the American Red Cross, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Henrietta Fore, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Zhou Wenzhong, and executives from the business community and nongovernmental organizations.

Key business participants included CEOs of Cisco Systems, Honeywell, Merrill Lynch, New York Life, Procter & Gamble, and Johnson & Johnson. Senior representatives attended from Avon, Merck, Chevron, and Caterpillar.

The U.S. Chamber and BCLC will continue working with relevant Chinese and U.S. officials and nongovernmental organizations to coordinate the private sector’s participation in long-term recovery. 

BCLC estimates that over $102 million in cash and in-kind contributions have been pledged to date. See the full list here.

Left to Right: U.S. Chamber SVP Arthur Rothkopf; Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson; Mary Elcano, Acting President and CEO, American Red Cross, Bonnie McElveen Hunter, Chairman, American Red Cross; President Bush; Business Roundtable’s John Castellani; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; and Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Zhou Wenzhong

Bill Gates on "Creative Capitalism"

by Kathryn Williams Traver

From The Wall Street Journal:

In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the software tycoon plans to call for a "creative capitalism" that uses market forces to address poor-country needs that he feels are being ignored.

"We have to find a way to make the aspects of capitalism that serve wealthier people serve poorer people as well," Mr. Gates will tell world leaders at the forum, according to a copy of the speech seen by The Wall Street Journal.

According to the WSJ, the key to Gates' plan will be for businesses to dedicate their top people to poor issues -- an approach he feels is more powerful than traditional corporate donations and volunteer work. Governments should set policies and disburse funds to create financial incentives for businesses to improve the lives of the poor, he plans to say.

Gates’ comments represent a new thinking that has evolved about the relationship between development assistance and economic development, and how the two disciplines can mutually reinforce each other.  Tomorrow, the Business Civic Leadership Center is bringing leaders in international trade and aid together with the business community to discuss how companies can use aid/development and philanthropy tools to improve emerging market conditions and facilitate expanded trade capacity. 

Learn more about the seminar - “Exploring Linkages between Aid and Trade”